Stubborn Love
by Squit Ayumin
Summary: When Ryo's fiancée leaves him, he is devastated to the point where his career is the only thing that keeps him alive. He then meets Rika, whom he uses to get over his failed relationship.
1. Chapter 1

I had originally meant this to be a Japanese fanfic, but I translated it into English for this website.

If I could go back, I'd change this to a Mimato.

**Warning:** Rated T for cursing and reference to alcohol (abuse). It'll be OOC for a while, but the characters' personalities will match the ones they have on the show towards the middle of the story.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Digimon.

**Stubborn Love  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 1**

Ryo Akiyama sat in his dining room with nothing accompanying him but several shot glasses and a large bottle of whiskey. He was already drunk, but he had no intention of stopping until he either fainted or died of alcohol poisoning. He really had no preference at that point, though if he were sober, he surely would have chosen the former.

But he wasn't, so he didn't care. Dying would be better than facing this pain. With much effort, he found himself pouring another shot and immediately throwing the dry, stinging liquid down his throat.

* * *

_Six weeks ago:_

_"Mayuko, stop!" Ryo tried to wrestle both the bottle and glass of wine out of his fiancée's clutches. "You have to stop!"_

_"No!" Mayuko kicked Ryo in the shin, forcing him to let go of her out of pain. She immediately fell to the floor, too drunk to stand up by herself. "_No_!"_

_"You can't even stand up…__" Ryo kneeled beside her. "C'mon, baby, you're going to throw up again."_

_"Leave me alone!" She stood up and threw her glass of wine at Ryo's head. "You stupid bastard, leave me alone!"_

* * *

Laughing at the memory, he poured himself another shot and drank it just as quickly as the last. Thinking back, it all seemed so hilarious—him and his new carpet being drenched in red wine. Then again, it could have just been the excess amount of alcohol in his system thinking for him.

* * *

_Five weeks ago:_

_"Whoo! Yeah!" Mayuko was laughing hysterically as she up smashed her glass of champagne against another guy's, breaking both of them. She shrieked in laughter, twirling continually in circles before jumping on Ryo's back and giving him a sloppy kiss on his cheek. "_Whoo hoo_!"_

_"Ma-yu-ko!" Ryo stumbled as Mayuko wobbled on top of him, still laughing. After he balanced her—which was rather difficult, considering she was still moving around and whooping—he set her back down. "Will you stop? This isn't a club!"_

_The two were at a posh celebration to congratulate his father's business' 25th anniversary. Mayuko didn't appear to hear him, as she took his dad's friend by the hand and began to grind up against him to classical music._

* * *

The bottle shook under Ryo's trembling fingers. He was so drunk he could barely hold up the bottle. He eventually did manage to fill the glass and pour its contents in his mouth, which he swallowed almost instantly. He sloppily wiped his mouth dry with his sleeve.

* * *

_Four weeks ago:_

_Ryo walked into a closing bar where Mayuko had fainted. She was seated by herself, her cheek against the countertop with the bartender looking at her worriedly. Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Ryo made his way to her._

_"Hey buddy, do us a favour and keep your girlfriend away from here." The janitor was mopping the floor beside Mayuko—undeniably where she __had thrown up. Up until recently, Mayuko hardly ever drank, making her tolerance quite low._

_"Are you going to pay the bill?" the bartender asked._

_Ryo sighed and put Mayuko on his back. "Sure, how much is it?"_

_"Well, let's see." The bartender punched in buttons on his cash register. "¥7600."_

_Ryo nearly dropped his wallet. "Are you joking?"_

_"Do you want me to show you her tab?"_

_Ryo sighed and gave him a credit card. "No, I believe you…"_

* * *

His shot glass broke as Ryo accidentally dropped it, splattering the liquor on his kitchen floor. He had thought of this beforehand, so several glasses were on the table to serve as backups. He picked up another one, poured another drink and threw it in his mouth.

* * *

_Three weeks ago:_

_"Ryo!" Mayuko cried, grabbing items of makeup and pills from the floor and back into her bag. "I… I…"_

_Ryo stared at his car. It had slammed into a noodle cart. The entire front was destroyed. Mayuko was on the floor with the police towering over her._

_"Sir, do you realise this woman was under the influence of various drugs while driving this vehicle? With the amount of pills she's taking, she shouldn't be roaming around the city in a car!"_

_"__I… I'm sorry, officer," he stuttered, staring at her in awe. He didn't even realise she was on any sort of medication._

_"It's a wonder she's alive!"_

* * *

He dropped his glass again. He took another one and took another shot.

* * *

_Two weeks ago:_

_"I hate you,__" Ryo read softly. Mayuko had written those words on the wall with bright red lipstick above their bed._

_"I do!" Mayuko screamed, tearing open her drawer of sentimental memorabilia. She seized a card Ryo had gotten her, ripped it and threw it at him. She took the tissue she saved from their first date, shredded it and threw that at him as well. She took a dead rose from the first flowers Ryo had given her, crushed it beneath the fingers and sprinkled the remains on the floor._

_Ryo watched, crestfallen, as she slowly destroyed all the pieces of important memories they shared together._

* * *

Ryo's head dropped to the table, too heavy for him to pick up without putting forth a tremendous amount of effort. He persisted to pour himself another shot though. He used his entire might to lift his head and pour the liquor in his mouth.

It didn't matter though.

No matter how many times he drank, he couldn't get Mayuko out of his head.

* * *

_Earlier that day:_

_As Ryo got out of his new car, he saw people carrying suitcases from his flat to a taxi. Panicking, he ran into his flat and saw Mayuko sitting on one of their settees, silently crying. "Mayuko? What's going on?"_

_She looked up, and Ryo noticed that she was wearing glasses, something she rarely did. Her face was free of makeup, something she rarely did as well. And, even more surprising, she wore baggy trousers and a loose vest. Mayuko never looked anything less of perfection, yet there she was, perfectly dishevelled. "Hi Ryo."_

_"What is all this?" His eyes blazed wildly at the people carrying suitcases out of their home. "Mayuko, where are you going?"_

_She stood up, her delicate shoulders and legs shaking with each strained effort. Her blue-green eyes looked desperately into Ryo's with hurt and regret. "I don't think it's going to work out, Ryo… It just isn't working, is it? We fight too much. We have different lifestyles. I think it'll just be a big mistake." She let out a feeble laugh that ground Ryo's heart into fine, virtually nonexistent dust. _

_"How can it be a mistake?" Ryo asked, wanting to grab Mayuko's shoulders and shake them until she came to her senses. "I wouldn't have asked you to marry me if I thought it would be a mistake!"_

_Mayuko smiled weakly. "I know… I wouldn't have said yes if I knew… But now I know that… we're never going to work… And you know it too… All I ever do is bother you and ruin your life… Ryo, we both know I'm not worth you…"_

_"Yes, you are!" Ryo could not believe the words coming out of her mouth. Mayuko, _his_ Mayuko, was dumping him. "How could you say that, Mayuko? I love you!"_

_Mayuko let out another laugh that was as forced as the first. She took off her engagement ring and put it in Ryo's palm. "I'm sorry… I just can't marry you…"_

* * *

He yelled angrily and threw the bottle straight at the wall. He had loved Mayuko with every fibre of his being. He had sacrificed so much for her. They had been through so much together. So why did she just leave him two months before their planned wedding? He couldn't understand it.

Mayuko's break-up speech flooded through his drunken mind, infuriating him. He grabbed the rest of the glasses on the table and with a swoop of an arm, threw those onto the floor as well, breaking all of them. With each smash, he felt himself think more and more of suicide. How easy it would be to end his life right there, right then.

He never got the chance, however, as his droopy eyes finally shut and his head landed on the glass table once again, finally asleep after hours of trying to do so.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everybody! Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I apologise for not updating. To answer some questions, yes, I am aware that Ryo will be slightly out of character. Nowhere near as extreme as in Hating You, however. Speaking of Hating You, no, I'm not discontinuing it. I just don't really want to be bothered with it much anymore, so I'm trying to concentrate on new fanfics.

**Stubborn Love  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 2**

Ryo sighed and leaned back in his rather dingy seat, ready for the fashion show that awaited his review. He didn't even know why he was writing this review. He was supposed to review the person who was supposed to write this review. However, as it turned out, that person had been fired several days ago, and being the person that he was, he had offered to take the role for the night. Everybody believed it was his kindness or dedication that drove him to do this, but in reality, it was nowhere as noble.

Today was the day of Mayuko's and his planned wedding. The thought of going to the home he had once shared with her was too depressing for him to even think about.

Yet, he had been surprisingly stable most of the day. As this day slowly approached, he had expected himself to be an emotional wreck, but he had only cried twice and they were both in private. His mind had drifted off only half a dozen times during the two meetings he had that day, and he actually had the will power not to knock out the people who felt fit to discuss relationship stories as if he were perfectly comfortable talking about his emotional pains with other people.

Ryo took out the papers and files he had taken from the person who was supposed to originally write this review and examined it. She hadn't left any instructions, so he was left to decipher the format of his first fashion review by himself. He'd be the first to admit that he was extremely underqualified for the job. Mayuko had done all his shopping in the six years they lived with each other, and besides the occasional flip through one of her magazines out of sheer boredom, he wasn't very interested in fashion.

"Blimey, these blasted seats could be a bit smaller!" cried a rather obese man as he settled in the chair to the right of Ryo's. The man turned his head to Ryo, ready to strike a conversation. "Lucky you! You're nothing but bones, mate!"

Ryo was slightly offended, as he did not consider himself to have an obscenely small figure. In fact, he could have sworn he gained weight since the break-up. His visits to the gym were nonexistent, and he couldn't remember the last time he voluntarily exercised.

"Thanks," Ryo responded anyway.

"Are you one of those male models?"

Ryo's humiliation level increased a good twenty percent. He had seen the male models before, and he was at least twice their size. "No, actually, I'm not."

"Coulda fooled me." The man took two glasses of complimentary champagne and handed one to Ryo. "There ya go, mate. Got to get the wife good and mad for a few days by coming home drunk, yer know?"

Ryo gave his seating ticket another close examination to make sure he was in the correct seat.

He was.

"Can't be arsed with that excuse for a wife." The man drank the entire glass of champagne in a single gulp. "You look pretty young, but have you got yourself a wife?"

Oh, the irony.

"No, I'm single."

"Good! Don't ever get married!"

"I'll keep it in mind," Ryo replied, looking awkwardly to his left at the blank seats. He took a sip of the champagne, hoping that perhaps his tolerance with give out and he would get instantly drunk.

"Wives are nothing but a frumpy lot who do nothing but fuss and nag!" The man waved his hand in the air, motioning for the waiter to bring him another glass of champagne. He looked at Ryo and pointed at his glass. "You going to drink that, mate?"

"Oh, no, go ahead." Ryo handed his glass to the man.

"Thanks, mate." The man quickly drank it, took two more glasses from the waiter, gave one to Ryo, and drank the last one quickly. "Damn, this is some good champagne. Name's Humphrey, by the way. Humphrey Matsumoto."

"Ryo Akiyama."

Humphrey's beady eyes expanded. "Hey, you aren't the bloke the Aoki girl was going to marry, are you?"

Ryo's disinterest in the conversation immediately disappeared. Humphrey didn't even wait for Ryo's response, which was quite fine with him.

"Goddamn! _You're_ the guy?" Humphrey slapped his forehead. "The girl came over to my place yesterday, crying about you. She was supposed to be in this show, yer know."

"She was?" Ryo subconsciously drained half his glass and turned his full attention to Humphrey, waiting for any sort of details as to where she was. After the break-up, Mayuko and Ryo had lost contact with each other. Although they both had each others' mobile numbers, he dared not to ring her up. Ryo had no idea where she lived now, and while she knew where he lived, she never came by. He took this as a sign that she did not want anything to do with him anymore. "Where is she now?"

"Went back to Kyushu last night, I think. She wanted to 'be with her family to ease her heartache' or some rubbish like that." Humphrey rolled his eyes. "Good thing you two didn't get married. Seemed like a whingy girl."

Ryo ignored his insult. Mayuko _missed_ him! For the past two months, he had painfully accepted that Mayuko had moved on without him, happily seeing other men and even dating them. Ryo couldn't even bear to talk to other women without feeling like he was cheating on her. The only women he had talked to were his early-thirty-something-year-old assistant and his mid-thirty-something-year-old vice president. Even he couldn't bring himself to believe that talking about the increasing number of accounting majors in universities could be classified as flirting.

"What exactly did she say about me?"

"I'm not entirely sure. It wasn't like I was pressing my ear against my daughter's door or anything. Oh, my daughter! Want to see pictures of her? She's a lovely girl." Without waiting for Ryo's response, he took out a wallet and thrust the leather at Ryo, pointing to a pretty blonde girl who was hard to imagine as the daughter of Humphrey, smiling widely. "Turnin' twenty-five in a fortnight. They grow up so fast, yer know?"

Ryo, being twenty-six, felt more obliged to share his daughter's feelings of turning twenty-five than sharing Humphrey's feelings of having a daughter turning twenty-five.

"Yes, they do," Ryo agreed.

"Anyway," Humphrey closed his wallet and put it back into his pocket, "she didn't say anything bad about you, if that's what you're thinking. She was blubbering on, but I don't think she was crying about anything you did."

"Oh," Ryo acknowledged happily, pleased that Mayuko missed him still. His joy faded slightly to imagine Mayuko crying over him. He was allowed to do that, not her. "Is she okay? Do you know?"

"How the bloody hell would I know?" Humphrey bellowed. "I was having a goddamn row with my wife!"

Ryo was thankful that at the exact time everybody turned to see where the commotion was coming from, the lights dimmed to announce the beginning of the show. He relaxed in his chair as the music began to play, somewhat content. On one hand, he knew Mayuko still had feelings for him. On the other hand, she was miserable. The question was whether she was miserable that she had let him go or that she still had feelings for him. He hoped desperately it was the first. Then again, she never really believed in refgrets.

He wanted to sit and argue with himself for the rest of the show but suddenly remembered the review and looked up at the catwalk, waiting for the models to come out, wondering if it would be obvious if the clothes were fashionable or not. He had been to several shows to watch Mayuko, but that was all that he did. Watch Mayuko.

The introduction was interesting, with models doing complicated walking routines that made Ryo wonder how they were living; they were so thin.

Ryo began to number a sheet of paper to signify the order in which the models came out and decided to make notes from there. He still had no idea what he was doing. What he would do for his assistant at that moment. God knew she was the only reason he hadn't been relieved of his career by now.

* * *

"_Do you want me to escort you?" His assistant, never the one to trust him with anything, began to organise his papers in the order they would need to be completed._

_Ryo took the papers from his desk __and shoved them all in a briefcase. "Arisa, I'm not going to make you work after hours just because you think I can't handle a bit of extra work."_

"_It's an awful lot, Mr__ Akiyama." Arisa looked at his briefcase, appalled. "I honestly wouldn't mind at all. Perhaps I could organise or—"_

"_Don't worry about it." Ryo took his briefcase and jacket and began for the door. "A little extra work is just what I need today to get my mind off things."_

"_Are you positive? I noticed you were—pardon me saying so—preoccupied today."_

"_Of course I'm positive. Why would I force work upon myself when I know I wouldn't be able to handle it?"_

* * *

How he wished now that he would have asked her to come.

"Blimey, that bird's hot!"

Ryo looked at Humphrey, who was gawking at the models. Rolling his eyes, Ryo continued to number his paper before realising that he was missing the first ensemble. He instantly looked at the catwalk, seeing that the model had already turned around, leaving Ryo to guess the front of her outfit. From the back, she looked an awful lot like Mayuko. Then again, everybody looked like Mayuko these days. He looked at his paper, wondering what sort of review he would put for it.

"Was that Aoki?"

Ryo's head instantly did a double take at the model, who was now disappearing into the curtains. "No, Mayuko's brunette. That girl had red hair."

"Looked a whole lot like her though. Thought I saw Aoki with some highlights yesterday too. Maybe I'm wrong." Humphrey shrugged.

Ryo's heart began to beat faster. Maybe it was her. He hadn't seen her in nearly two months, and who knew what sort of transformation she had gone through. She was constantly changing the colour of her hair with dye jobs.

From that point on, he paid careful attention to the show, hoping she would come out once more.

* * *

Ryo looked at his notes, wondering what a fashion review had anything to do with hotels. Nevertheless, he was rather pleased with his work. He had remained alert to see if she would come back out again, but she never did. It was almost inevitable that Arisa would take one look and "revise" it, which meant she would rewrite the entire thing.

That was fine with him, as it would save him the embarrassment of being ridiculed for poor work.

"Hey! Akiyama!"

Humphrey, who had been following him since the fashion show ended, slapped his large hand on Ryo's shoulder and handed him another glass of champagne. Ryo held it, pointing it towards Humphrey, who was going to take it in a frew minutes anyway. He was on the lookout for Mayuko, who he had yet to see at the afterparty.

"Some afterparty, huh?"

"Yeah," Ryo agreed, looking at every girl with red or brown hair. Perhaps it was just his excessive hope and Humphrey's drunkenness that got him to believe he had seen Mayuko. Why would Mayuko work if she were truly sad? Unlike Ryo, who liked piling work stress to force himself to forget about personal stress, Mayuko was the type of person who would sulk at home, accepting console from friends, family and, when a part of her life, him.

Deciding to keep the champagne for himself, Ryo drank it down, not really caring if everybody thought he was as naff as Humphrey.

"Want?"

Ryo turned slightly to see Humphrey sticking a cigar at him. "Oh, no, I don't smo—"

And behind the cigar, he saw her. Mayuko. Right there. Laughing and holding champagne as if she hadn't a care in the world.

Indeed, her hair was dyed a glorious shade of auburn. It looked striking on her, despite his secret, childish hatred for redheads. His best mate had deep red hair and had always been more popular in school than he had been. He even once considered dying his own hair the same shade as his best friend's before his mother found out and threatened his life.

"Ey, it's Aoki!" Humphrey announced, who had followed Ryo's stare. "Go say hi to her!"

Ryo's excitement was quickly engulfed in sadness. She was _laughing_. What sort of sad person laughed?

"Go say hi to her, Akiyama!"

Ryo felt a hard blow on the shoulder as Humphrey pushed him towards Mayuko. Staggering, he tried to gather his courage to greet her.

They had spent nearly seven years together, so there was no excuse for them not to be friends after a failed engagement. He shouldn't even be nervous! It was _Mayuko_!

Finally, he cleared his throat and tapped Mayuko on the shoulder.

Mayuko turned around, and Ryo saw immediately that… she wasn't Mayuko. Not only was the hair colour different, but so were her eyes, an icy amethyst colour not even contact lenses could duplicate.

"Yes?"

Yet, she looked so much like her.

The girl blinked, looking at Ryo as if he were the weirdest being on the planet. "May I help you?"

Despite her choice of words, she spoke in a tone that was anything but polite.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were somebody else." Ryo bowed apologetically, turning to walk away to sulk in his own humiliation.

"No luck, eh?" Humphrey asked as Ryo approached him once more. "Here, have some champagne. It's free."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Ryo was feeling quite reenergised and a lot merrier, completely due to the alcohol now present in his system. His will power was gone, and although he had sworn himself no alcohol that day, he couldn't stop taking the glasses the waiters pushed at him. With each glass, he would tell himself it would be his last one, but no sooner had he drunk it did a waiter offer him another. _It's just champagne_, he would tell himself as he slowly but surely got more and more drunk.

This was the first time he had ever gotten drunk in the eye of the posh public. Luckily, he had gained a lot of tolerance over the years and his state wasn't too horrible. He could still talk without slurring and walk in a straight line. But what he would do to see the faces of his father and Arisa watching him at a drunken state in the middle of this party, all alone as Humphrey had left for a pub not too long ago. Even slightly tipsiness drove his father and Arisa to the point of insanity, as neither trusted him. His father would claim him as a public embarrassment, and Arisa would try to drag him out of the party immediately and scold him like a mother about how he was better than that. The thought was laughable, so he laughed to himself before picking up a quiche and popping it in his mouth. He washed it down with a drink of champagne, a fantastic combination.

He looked up to see the Mayuko look-alike emerge from the washroom. God, she was beautiful.

Or perhaps she was not. He couldn't remember how she differed from Mayuko, nor could he see her face from the buffet line, but he knew for a fact that Mayuko was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and this girl looked like her; therefore, she must be beautiful.

He let out a loud wolf whistle, something he had not done since he was an immature teenager.

Unsurprisingly, the girl did not take it as a compliment. She gave him a dirty look before walking away, obviously not impressed with his childish approach.

Shrugging it off, he took another quiche and ate it. He was getting slightly nauseous from all the food and alcohol entering his body, but the taste overpowered the after-effect.

His eyes followed the Mayuko look-alike, still intrigued at the similarities. When she had turned to give him a dirty look, he saw she could pass for Mayuko's twin. Hair, eye and skin colour aside, the biggest difference Ryo noticed was the vibe Mayuko possessed this girl lacked. Mayuko was energetic and bubbly, giving her an approachable aura Ryo had always admired. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't replicate the same presence. Everybody always told him he seemed uptight even when he wasn't.

The Mayuko look-alike joined her friends and began to talk to them again. Ryo wished he had friends with him so he wouldn't feel like such a loser eating his weight in quiches. Plus, this was the first time Ryo had been interested in another girl since he was eighteen. Of course, it was only because she reminded him so much of Mayuko, but he was interested nevertheless.

Today was supposed to be the happiest of his life, but it had been destroyed two months ago. Now that it came, he wasn't at home feeling sorry for himself but at a party, checking out a girl. He was checking out a girl without feeling like he was cheating on his ex-fiancée, who probably had moved on. He didn't care what Humphrey said. He knew Mayuko for nearly seven years and if there was one thing he knew about her, it was her ability to drown out the bad and emphasise the good. While he was sulking and depressed, she was probably making this new chapter of her life as exciting as humanly possible. If she saw that he was miserable, she would be crushed he was in pain because of her. If she were in his presence, she would surely urge him to move on and be happy once again.

It was fate, and he was going to take it. He took another quiche and drank the rest of champagne before gathering the courage to approach her. He highly doubted he still possessed the charisma he once had, but if he was lucky enough to have Mayuko for seven years, he must have _something_.

* * *

Four minutes later, Ryo was sitting in his car, adjusting the time to match the exact time of his mobile phone. He found the car timing to be off slightly by several seconds, and not really feeling like taking the forty-minute drive home, he was doing everything he could to hold that off.

He had chickened out with the girl. He had walked over and stared for a bit before her friend noticed and informed her. He then looked away and proceeded to walk straight out the door and to his car.

And that was that.

Wondering if he was the biggest loser in the world, he started his car and drove out of the car park.

* * *

When he reached his home, he finally felt the wave of depression he had been waiting for all day. It started merely by him looking at the walls. They were white. Mayuko had planned to paint them, and they had gotten into an argument over it. He wanted to keep them as they were; she wanted them blue. If he could go back, he would've just let her paint them.

He slumped further into his apartment and saw the dining table to his left. Mayuko had picked it out. Behind the dining table was the kitchen, which didn't have any food in it. He didn't ever feel like going grocery shopping anymore. He knew he had water though, since that was his breakfast every morning. On the other side of the dining room was his large lounge. It was definitely his favourite room in the flat. The black leather couches were of Mayuko's picking. So was the table in the centre. The huge plasma television—he was proud to say—was chosen by him, even though he rarely turned it on other than to watch the news. To the right were his walk-in wardrobes, and past that was the bathroom. In front was the bedroom. Mayuko had picked the ¥155,000 Egyptian cotton sheets, claiming his old spread was not "comfortable" enough.

He threw everything in the direction of the dining room before regretting the mess. He was obsessively clean, so he went back and picked up his belongings and set them on some drawers in his bedroom. As he took of his suit jacket, he scanned his flat. He could use more doors. Mayuko felt as if doors were unnecessary, so she had taken them all down except the ones for the wardrobes, bathroom and the front door. He had no preference back then, but he wondered how it would be to have an actual door to hide his bedroom.

He left his door-less bedroom and went towards the wardrobes. Mayuko's closet—the right one—now housed his casual clothing, which was essentially nothing. The left contained his work clothes.

He examined the flat once again as he slowly began to unbutton his shirt. The flat didn't feel like home, even though he had lived there for nearly six years. Mayuko had renovated their flat to fit her carefree personality and his sophistication. It wasn't his flat; it was theirs.

First thing Sunday, he would try and redecorate the flat. He would change the sheets back to his old ones. He would hire people to install doors.

He opened a small container on his bed stand and took out two tablets—his sleeping pills. He just wanted the day to be over.

* * *

**Random fact about Chapter 2:** In the Japanese version, Humphrey has a Hakata dialect.


	3. Chapter 3

**Madd the sane:** Ryo and Rika do not know each other (yet) in this fanfic.

**Stubborn Love  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 3**

"Arisa, you're my life," Ryo muttered thankfully, taking the coffee from his assistant's hands. He took a sip and held back a sigh of relief. The bad thing about his sleeping pills was the fact that he was supposed to have at least eight hours of sleep with them. Last night, he had approximately five, which was actually more than his usual four.

Anyway, this meant he needed at least two cups of coffee before he could actually function in the mornings.

Arisa set down a massive stack of folders in front of him. "Sir, I'm sorry to rush you, but you have an audition scheduled in twenty minutes. You were supposed to be down there ten minutes ago."

Ryo looked up.

Audition? What audition? Since when did he run auditions?

Too embarrassed he had forgotten, he just stared at Arisa. She understood.

"It's the spokesperson audition?"

Oh, _that_ audition. He and Mayuko had made an elaborate plan to boost her modelling career, but she had broken up with him before it went into effect. He had made Arisa call her to remind her of it—he certainly wasn't going to let a break-up ruin Mayuko's contract—but she cancelled and he had to find another person immediately.

It was actually pretty unbelievable. It was a killer amount of work, and he had to practically beg his father to agree to let him merely shouted and refused. So he was now stuck with a stupid plan he never really wanted to do.

"Oh, that," he muttered, picking up a leather-bound folder and opening it to see a fuzzy piece of paper with black scribbles, a small photo of a fuzzy person and bigger fuzzier pictures.

He needed more coffee. His eyes weren't working properly.

"Arisa, don't you think there's someone more qualified than me to do this?" he asked, taking a large gulp of coffee.

"You'll still have to be there for the final approval." Arisa raised her eyebrow. "Of course, we have established a board for the project, and we'll be collaborating with Osamu Agencies once we've finalised our part of the contract, but…"

As Arisa continued to drone on about the plan for what seemed to be the millionth time, Ryo irritably picked at a tip of his desk. This is what he got for asking a stupid question she had already explained—several times.

"Furthermore, I may remind you that it _was_ your idea. And you insisted that you should be in charge. Your father…"

Ryo brought the coffee cup to his lips and rolled his eyes subtly. His father. To hell what his father wanted. He was bloody in Kyushu.

"Anyway, they're all waiting in the conference room." Arisa's firm face wrinkled into a warm smile. "I'll just wait for you outside."

"Yes, that's good. I'll be out in a few seconds," he said, taking another swig of coffee.

Once she left, he picked up his office phone and dialled his vice president. He knew she fancied him—as weird as that was—so she wouldn't refuse a tempting offer such as taking his place.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Ryo was sitting in his chair, hand holding the same phone to his ear. A single ring later, he slammed it back onto his desk for what seemed to be the umpteenth time.

He sat there for a second, mentally kicking himself for being such a cowardly idiot and picked the phone up once again. A single ring later, it was put back into its crib.

"This is stupid," he muttered to himself. He hit redial, put the phone on speakerphone and pushed his chair back against the wall to stop himself from chickening out.

Three rings later, she answered.

"Hello?"

He couldn't breathe. Two months without hearing her voice was far too long; he had almost forgotten just how beautiful it was.

"Hello? Aoki residence," she repeated, louder.

"Hey," he said finally.

"Hello…" she replied unsurely. "I'm sorry, but may I ask who this is?"

"It's me."

Silence.

"Erm, it's Ryo," he tried again.

"Hey Ryo," she said at the same time.

"Hi," he repeated, semi-delighted she remembered him.

A long, awkward pause followed.

"How are you?" he quickly asked.

"I'm all right," she answered, clearly uncomfortable. "You?"

"I'm okay," he lied.

Another long pause.

"Is there… a reason you called?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot." He cleared his throat. "It's about that project we were going to work on. I was just checking to see if you might still want to do it. I mean, it was made for you, so I thought I'd be fair about it."

"I already told Arisa that I wouldn't do it anymore, Ryo."

"Oh, right." He cleared his throat again. "I was just… checking. Ha-ha, you know me. I need to check everything myself."

She didn't respond.

Now he felt rather stupid.

"Ryo?" she said finally.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry to ask this of you, but could you not call me anymore?"

He froze. Rather than try to analyse what she had just said to him, he picked up his cup, examining its pattern.

She continued, "I'm sorry, it's just too awkward…"

"Oh, yeah, don't worry about it." He chuckled, swishing the cup so several splashes of coffee splattered the floor. "Sorry, I guess I'm just thick."

"Don't be sorry, Ryo. You didn't do anything wrong. It's me."

"Ha-ha, no, really, I'm sorry." He set the cup back on the desk, realising what he had done. "I was just checking up on you."

He heard soft sniffling from the other end. She was crying.

And knowing her, she would much rather him not know.

"Ryo, I'm going to go," she said, attempting to hide her crying. "Thanks for thinking of me."

"Oh, okay," he said, blankly. "I'll see you la—er, I mean I'll—I hope you'll be well."

"Thanks Ryo. You too."

She hung up first.

He sat there for a minute.

What had he expected? For her to be ecstatic that her ex-fiancé contacted her for the first time in two months? For her to suddenly agree to this deal when she couldn't even stand talking to him on the phone?

Why was he such an idiot?

He reached over to put the phone back in its receiver.

He would maintain his cool. He would remain perfectly okay until work ended.

* * *

Several hours of miscellaneous procrastination tactics later, he hadn't finished, or started, a thing. His fashion reviews stood high on his desk, waiting his unprofessional, inexperienced revision. He had attended a meeting already, only to have sat there picking at his Styrofoam cup until it chipped. And now he was in his office again, staring at Solitaire.

Without warning, his vice president, Chikako Suzuki, walked into the office. He quickly exited his game and pulled up a random Excel spreadsheet.

"Yes?" he answered.

"President Akiyama, I'm sorry but—"

"Let me in!" he heard from behind her. "Get your hands off me!"

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in just yet," came Arisa's calm voice.

"Who does this guy think he is? The Prime Mini—I said don't touch me! I demand I be let in!"

"What's wrong?" he asked, standing up, looking at Suzuki for answers.

Before she could open her mouth, a redheaded girl barged into the room, Arisa flopping on her arm.

"_You_," the girl said, glaring accusingly at him.

He looked at her questioningly for a second before his eyes widened. It was the model girl from the night before—the Mayuko look-alike.

What the hell was she doing here?

"Yes?" he asked coolly, feigning ignorance.

Oh God, he had whistled at her.

He had _whistled_ at her.

She was going to realise who he was and blurt it out. There were very few things that could match the embarrassment he currently felt.

"What sort of a skewed establishment are you running here?" she demanded, jerking the tiny Arisa off her arm.

"Is there a problem?" he asked, remaining refined. To hide his fear, he sat back down in his seat and put his trembling hands on his legs.

"Please calm down," Suzuki said, taking her arm.

"Don't touch me!" she shouted, throwing Suzuki off as well. She marched up to him. "No, there's no problem. I just feel like wasting my time talking to you for no reason."

He felt a twang of annoyance. "Well, if that's the case, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave."

She gave him a glare. "Don't taunt me."

"You taunted me first."

He shouldn't be doing this, mocking her like this. If she remembered him and even muttered a single word that he had drunkenly hit on her, he was finished. Arisa would tell his father; his father would kill him.

"Should I call security?" Suzuki asked.

"Security?" the girl snapped, glaring angrily at Suzuki for a split second before turning back to him. "I'll sue your employees for harassing me if you call security."

"That won't be necessary, Suzuki. Could you and Arisa give us a moment?" When they left, he looked at the girl in front of him. "So what's your dilemma?"

She threw a packet on his desk.

"It's a contract," he said when she merely continued to glare.

"Yes, it is. I demand that you cancel it," she ordered.

He looked up at her. "I don't even know what this is. You can't just come in here—which you weren't allowed to do, by the way—threaten my employees, and tell me to—"

"You can't just randomly sign me for your stupid contract without my permission." She picked the packet and threw it at his chest. "I'm 22 years old. My mum doesn't have control over me."

He picked the papers up. It was the modelling contract he had made for Mayuko. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just cancel the contract," she demanded.

"I really haven't a clue what you're saying to me. Perhaps if you just calmed down and expl—"

"Don't tell me to calm down. I don't need to calm down."

Ryo took a deep breath to calm his frustration, not caring if she noticed or not. "Fine, don't calm down. Could you then just explain what you're talking ab—"

"Apparently, somebody signed me to this contract without my permission," she interrupted. "I don't do advertising, first of all."

"Who signed you?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there."

"Well then, how did anyone sign you?" He flipped to the last page. "Rumiko?"

"No, that would be my mother." She seized the papers. "Cancel the contract."

"Somebody here let your mother sign you up for the deal?" he asked. He looked at her closely for the first time rather than glancing, and he noticed that he had mistaken the night before. She looked nothing like Mayuko.

"Yes, that's what I said," she said rather rudely.

He took the papers from her hand and put them aside. "Fine, it's cancelled."

She looked mildly surprised. "That's it?"

He looked up. "Yes, is there anything else?"

Her eyes narrowed, full of suspicion. "You aren't trying to trick me, are you?"

He turned away from her face and looked back at his computer. "Why would I do something like that? To be completely frank, I wouldn't want to work with someone with your immaturity in the first place."

"Immaturity?" she shrieked. "You rude—"

"Arisa, call security to remove this woman from my office at once," he said, turning his speakerphone on. He looked at her once again. "Is there anything else you need, ma'am?"

"Yes. Kindly throw yourself out of that window, you jackass. I can kick myself out." She stormed out of the room.

Ryo took the contract and threw it into the rubbish bin.

He couldn't deal with people like her.

* * *

The worst part of each day for Ryo was getting off work, precisely for the reason everybody else loved it: no more work.

Without work to distract him, he felt himself fall into depression—the same sort of angst that he used to see with teenage students back in school. It was humiliating.

"There you go, love." The waitress set a glass in front of Ryo, smiling warmly at him. "Girl got you down?"

Ryo thanked her and took a sip of the drink, ignoring her question.

"Don't worry. You're still young and handsome." She gave him an affectionate pat on his shoulder. "If it wasn't meant to be, it wasn't meant to be."

"Actually, I'm just here for dinner," he responded finally. As nice as she was, who was she to assume such things? Even if she was right, it was still annoying.

She smiled knowingly. "Ready to order then, sweetheart?"

He looked at the menu. He hadn't eaten since last night's after party. Still, he had no appetite, especially when having to choose between the pub's dodgy choices.

"Need a few minutes?"

"Er, no, I'll just have…" His eyes fell to the first thing on the menu, "p…pork scratchings."

"That all for you?"

"No, I'll also have…" He randomly chose another one, as the first hardly sounded appetising, "a toad in the hole?"

"What would like in it?"

"Um, what could I have?"

"Sausage, beans, soup, stew—"

"It doesn't matter," he interrupted. "Whichever tastes the best."

"Out in a few, hon." She walked away, as Ryo sipped his drink nervously.

Pork scratchings were foul to even imagine to eat, and he had never eaten a toad in the hole before, though that hardly sounded appetising either.

He looked around. Besides a scruffy man in a large coat, he was the only other person in the pub.

The quiet environment was soothing, temporarily allowing Ryo to worry more about his future dinner than his past relationship.

It was interrupted, however, as the door swung open, cool air and rain rushing in.

"Welcome to Lunasa!" greeted the waitress that had just taken Ryo's order.

"Good evening," came a male's voice.

Out of common courtesy, Ryo didn't turn around to look at them. The old man in the corner did for a second before losing interest and turning back to the game on the telly.

"You brought me to a pub?" came a female's voice.

"It's my favourite pub."

"A real catch, you are."

"Come on, babe. You'll love it."

"I can't believe I let you drag me out of home in this weather to go to a _pub_."

"I didn't drag you out."

"I didn't want to come."

"Give it a chance."

"I'm still here, aren't I?"

Ryo heard chuckling.

"Could we get some menus over here?"

So much for a quiet night, Ryo thought to himself. He took his drink and sipped it again.

"What do you want?"

"I've told you a hundred times that I hate pubs. I don't want anything."

The waitress came back out with Ryo's bowl of pork scratchings. "There you go. Japan's finest."

He gave a weak smile, wondering if she was joking or not. "Thanks." He raised his glass. "Er, could I have another one of these?"

"Of course, love. Your toad will be out in a second."

He picked at the crisps, wondering if he should try one.

"Come on, you have to order something."

"I don't _want_ anything."

"Well, I took you out so order something."

"You order something. I'm not hungry."

"Order something!"

"What don't you understand about this simple concept? Are you really that simple-minded?"

"God, damn it. Will you just order something?"

"I don't _want_ anything!"

Getting annoyed at the obnoxious couple, Ryo stirred his drink and took a long sip. That's what he got for coming to a pub instead of a restaurant. He just thought it'd be less awkward to see a guy eating by himself at a pub than a restaurant.

Ryo put a scratching in his mouth out of curiosity, only to spit it out a nanosecond later, coughing.

It was the single most repulsive thing he had ever tasted in his life.

He continued coughing softly, taking sips of his drink to get rid of the offending taste on his tongue.

"Are you okay, mate?" asked the man with the girl.

"Oh, I'm fi—" He had turned around to look at them, only to turn around as soon as he saw them.

It was the lunatic who had harassed him at his office.

She was there with who he assumed was her boyfriend, sitting merely two tables away from him.

Luckily, she hadn't seen him, far more interested in the menu.

"I'm fine," he repeated, lowering his voice a notch.

"What the hell is a toad in the hole?" the girl asked.

"Yorkshire pudding with shit," her companion answered. "It's not that great."

"This is all disgusting. I don't want any of it."

The waitress walked back out, giving Ryo his meal and drink before walking to the couple. "Could I get you some drinks?"

"Hey, that guy just got a toad in the hole! Hey, mate! Is that any good?"

Ryo lowered his head. "Er, yeah! It's great."

"Stop harassing him!"

"I'm not harassing him."

"Yes, you are! He doesn't want to talk to you."

Why? Why did they have to keep addressing his presence? Why couldn't they be like normal couples and talk amongst themselves?

"Fine, just order a drink."

"I already said I don't want anything."

"Bloody hell Rika, stop yelling at me and order a drink."

Rika. So that was her name.

"I don't want a drink. I don't want to be here. I'm leaving."

"Oh, _come on_!" Sounds of chairs moving. "It's raining. You'll catch pneumonia."

Tempted to turn around, Ryo just took a large gulp of his drink, stirring his food with a scratching.

"Good, then you won't try to force me into eating dodgy pub food."

"Honestly, do you have to act like a four-year-old in public? People can hear you."

Rustling sounds.

"Rika, seriously, it's raining."

"I happen to like a rain."

"I like sharks, but I wouldn't swim beside one."

"Just shut up and eat your stupid food in this stupid place. If you need me, I'll be at home."

"Rika, come on! You're getting mad over nothing—_again_."

_Just like today at the office_, Ryo thought to himself.

"I'm not mad. I'm frustrated that you dragged me out for no good reason when I was _trying_ to sleep. I'm going back to bed."

"Stop shouting. Can't you see that you're embarrassing yourself?"

"Then I'll leave."

"Rika, just—" Sounds of somebody screaming and falling. "Oh, my God, are you all right?"

Without thinking, Ryo turned around to see what had happened. By the looks of it, the man had accidentally hit the waitress' tray. The man was helping the waitress up off the floor, while Rika glanced at Ryo.

He immediately turned around.

"You—" she started.

He threw money on the table, attempting to walk out of the pub.

"Thank you," he muttered as he passed the waitress.

"Wait!" Rika took his arm and stopped him.

He froze. With her attitude, he almost expected her to hit him.

Her face brightened before he got a chance to respond. "Hi!"

She was being friendly. Why was she being friendly?

"Hi," he said nervously, hoping he didn't look as freaked out as he actually was.

"Who's he?" the other guy demanded, losing interest in the fallen waitress. He had been helping her up, resulting in her falling straight back to the floor. He didn't look twice at her.

"Nobody you know," she said matter-of-factly. She smiled at Ryo. "How have you been?"

She gave him a look.

"I'm well?" he asked.

She gave him another look.

"You?" he tried.

"I'm perfect!" She laughed, hitting his arm rather harshly, probably for his poor acting skills. "I haven't seen you in the longest time!"

"Who're you?" the guy demanded, looking at Ryo.

She slid a hand over his shoulder and another across his chest, making him uncomfortable. He was never too touchy. "This is… Motou."

"And who the hell is Motou?"

She smiled smugly and snuggled her head close to his neck. Ryo, too shocked and confused, merely stood there. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Who the hell are you?"

He stared at him, watching as the guy rolled his sleeves up. "Oh, I'm not—"

"Stop being stupid, Kazu." She took Ryo by the arm. "Come on, Motou, will you take me out to a _real_ dinner?" She smirked at her boyfriend. "Motou here is president of his own company."

Before he could clear things up with this Kazu character, she was dragging him out the door.

He was interrupted, however, as Kazu gave him a hard punch on the back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded as Ryo found his balance and straightened up.

"Look, this is a big misund—"

Kazu punched his face.

"Kazu, stop hitting him," Rika said nonchalantly, seemingly not concerned that she had just caused Ryo a painful injury. "God, you get so jealous—"

Without thinking again, Ryo punched Kazu back in the face.

Surprisingly, it felt good. He was never one to get into physical brawls, but it was as if he had put all his frustrations into that one punch.

His relief was only temporary as Kazu lunged for him again. Before he could hit, Rika stepped up, kicked him between the legs, grabbed Ryo's arm and ran out the pub.

* * *

**Random Fact about Chapter 3:** I had to write Ryo's phone conversation with Mayuko _three_ times because I kept closing the window without saving it. It hardly has the same effect anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

Update!

**Chiban-chan:** I'm flattered. (:  
**Supper:** Ha-ha, thanks for inspiring me to finally post this!

**Stubborn Love  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 4**

"_What_ is _wrong_ with you?" Ryo demanded, manners and patience long gone.

She looked at him as if she had just noticed his presence. "Why are you still following me?"

And she proceeded to walk onwards.

In complete disbelief, Ryo quickened his pace to catch up to her. "Your boyfriend just punched me. Twice."

"And you deserve it after what you did to me today." She gave him a piercing look. "Besides, what sort of man can't take a punch? Especially from _Kazu_. You're an embarrassment if you can't take it from him."

He stopped, overcome once again, before catching up to her again. "That contract thing wasn't my fault, first of all, and where do you get off asking me for favours?"

She stopped to look at him. "I didn't really _ask_ you, did I? You played along out of your own free will."

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. There were a thousand things he wanted to say to her, but he was too flustered to say anything. "You—"

"Yes?" she challenged.

"You're unbelievable," he said finally, disappointed in his response.

She smirked. "Look, you don't seem like the kind of guy who eats pork scratchings at shady pubs and I didn't want to be with Kazu, so we both got out of what we both didn't want to do, right? If anything, you should be thanking me."

"You think—wait. I should be thanking—?" He frustratingly loosened his tie. "Pork scratchings happen to be one of my most favourite dishes."

She laughed, obviously not believing him.

"If you could call it a dish," she retorted. "Please, you definitely look like one of those guys who've lived their entire lives in the country club."

She was insulting him again.

She smirked and walked onwards. "Come on then, Motou. You owe me dinner."

"I owe you _what_?" Ryo followed her, almost swimming in disbelief now. "I don't owe you dinner. And my name's—"

She opened a door to a McDonald's and shut it in his face. He stared for a second, wondering if he should do the smart thing and simply be on his way.

Her surrealism drew him into the restaurant, however. That, and it was empty so the employees were all staring at him, wondering why he was just staring at her.

"Get me a chicken nugget meal," she said immediately, as she situated herself in a booth. "Sweet and sour sauce, Coke."

He walked to where she was. "You must be joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" She squeezed the water from the hair, allowing it to drip to the floor, and took off her jacket. "Go on, then. I don't have all night."

* * *

Two minutes later, Ryo found himself setting a tray of food in front of her.

"Is this… healthy?" he asked, taking a nugget.

"Hey, get your own!" she demanded, seizing the food from his hand. "And no it's not healthy. It's McDonald's. Are you stupid?"

"I paid for that," he pointed out.

"And I assure you that I'm very, very grateful," She opened a container of sauce and dipped, "but I haven't eaten all day. I'm hungry."

"You honestly the most unbelievable person ever," Ryo muttered, looking away. The air conditioner pumped massive amounts of cold wind his way, causing him to shiver.

"Cold?" she queried. "It's what you get for not bringing an umbrella."

"You didn't bring an umbrella."

"I don't mind rain," she said matter-of-factly, taking a large helping of her drink. "So, explain something to me."

He still didn't look at her and instead shrugged.

"Why are you following me?"

His eyes jerked towards her, incredulity rushing through him. "What makes you think I'm following you?"

"Well, after we left that pub, you followed me here to McDonald's. On top of that, you were stupid enough to buy me food." She smirked. "What? Do you fancy me?"

"What?" he asked a bit too quickly. "No. No! What's wrong with you?"

Why exactly was he here? He was more enticed at the disbelief of this all that he couldn't make himself break away.

That, and admittedly this was a good distraction from his personal problems.

Those were the only reasons he could think of anyway.

"My boyfriend is back at the pub. Why don't you go talk to him instead?" she pointed out, smirking. "Have you got a girlfriend then?"

"Yes—no." Ryo felt annoyance. "Why do you want to know?"

"Which one is it?" she asked, still smiling as if she was the single greatest being on Earth.

"No," he said firmly.

"Oh, I get it now." She smirked knowingly. "You were dumped, weren't you? That's why you were sitting all droopily at the pub."

"No," he objected. "Actually, I was just there to get dinner."

"And that's why you were such a douche to me today, huh? Your girlfriend left you so you took it out on me?" She laughed.

He gawked. "I wasn't rude. _You_ were rude!"

"You called security on me," she pointed out.

"You told me to throw myself out of a window!" he retorted.

"_After_ you called security." She held a chicken nugget to his face. "Here, take it. I pity you, Motou. And you look much too gangly."

He took it. "I am _not_ gangly."

"Fine, you're hideously fat." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, and they say _girls_ get sensitive about their weight."

He didn't respond, instead nibbling on the chicken nugget.

It wasn't that good.

He set it back on the tray.

"Too low class for you?" she asked, smiling. "And you never answered my question."

Offended, he took the nugget and popped it into his mouth.

"Why are you following me?"

He continued to chew.

She continued to stare at him.

He swallowed.

She stared.

"I didn't realise I was doing it," he answered honestly.

She stood up, her tray of barely-eaten food in her hands. "Yeah, sure. I'll just be leaving then."

She threw the trash away and headed towards the door.

Every bone in his body told him to leave her alone, to let her go wherever she wanted and to leave her be. It wasn't like he had any sort of bond towards her.

But a small voice in his head haunted him, telling him of the dangers of the night: thieves, kidnappers, cars and shady people in general.

Sighing, he stood up and followed her out the door. He saw her just in time to see her disappear into a red sake tent. Pulling his jacket to him, he crossed the street and walked in.

* * *

"Admit it, Motou. You like me."

How could he? He embarrassed himself the first time he saw her, she had a fit the second time and he managed to get punched rather painfully the third time.

He wasn't in any rush to spend more time with this girl, though he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

He watched as she poured liquor into two glasses, pushing one to him.

"It's Ryo," he said as he took it.

"What?"

"My name. It's Ryo."

"Myou?" she asked, holding up her cup. "I was close. Cheers."

She bashed her cup with Ryo's and drank the contents.

"Ryo," he repeated, turning away to drink even though he knew she was younger.

"Ah, polite boy, aren't you?" She smirked. "Two hands and everything."

He set the cup down.

"I'm Rika," she said, pouring into the cup almost immediately after he set it down. "You know, Motou, when I first saw you, I thought you were a complete asshole, but you're actually not that bad. In a weird, annoying sort of way."

Giving up on trying to teach her his name, he just took the drink and waited for her to finish pouring her own.

"How good is your tolerance?" she asked, smashing her cup against his.

"It's okay," he answered, drinking what remained in the cup.

"Good, because mine's absolute crap." She set her cup down and poured some more. "I've already had two glasses of wine before going out with Kazu."

So that was why she was being so much friendlier.

She pushed the sake bottle at him. "Pour."

Not knowing what to do but obey, he did so. "I'm older than you, by the way."

"Really?" she queried, evidently not understanding that he meant that he shouldn't be pouring her anything. "How old are you?"

"Twenty six."

She smiled knowingly. "You're mad that I'm not using honorifics, then?"

Oh, he hadn't realised that.

But now that he thought about it, it was true.

"To be honest though, I don't see any reason to. You're older than me, but you don't act much older." She shrugged. "Get over it, Motou."

He decided that it didn't really bother him that much. He watched as she took another shot.

"You're going to get drunk, you know," he nagged.

She grinned at him. "Do you think I came here _not_ to get drunk?"

"Well, what am I supposed to do once you pass out?" he asked solemnly. "I hope you realise I'm not going to be carrying you home on my back."

"Of course not. You'd die of the exercise, wouldn't you?" She tossed her mobile phone to him. "You can call my mum. It's saved under 'Mum.'"

"Or you could not get drunk."

"Or you could just leave me here."

"Or you could not get drunk."

She seized the bottle from him. "Or you could just leave me here. I never asked you to be here."

She looked into the bottle, realising it was empty. "Could I have another bottle of sake? Oh, and bring some food! What do you want to eat, Motou? It's all on me!"

* * *

Ryo sighed, turning his cup around before drinking it. He wasn't even trying to look decent anymore. His back was slouched, his elbow was on the table, head rested lazily on his hand.

Rika, on the other hand, was drunk. She had been drunk for a while, but she was refusing to stop.

"This is good, Mister. You should try some."

"No thanks," he said for what appeared to be for the millionth time, watching as she put the grossest foods into her system.

"Lady, could I have oysters too?" she asked loudly. She looked at Ryo. "Oh, and whatever sushi you have!" She smiled. "You look like a sushi guy."

He liked sushi, but he had no appetite.

"I'm fine."

"Tch, then I'll eat it," she said grumpily. "You should be thankful, Mister."

As she got more and more drunk, she seemed to have forgotten both Ryo and Motou and settled with Mister.

"The thing that sucks about modelling—well, everything about it sucks, but the thing I hate most is this!" She held up a large, unappealing slab of eel to him. "I can't eat anything that tastes decent!"

"Oh." Grossed out, he took her wrist and pushed her hand away from his nose.

She happily chomped on it.

"Do you feel like leaving?" he asked, staring as his watch ticked annoyingly slower than usual.

"I just ordered more stuff! I can't leave yet!" She shook her head as she pierced another slab of eel meat with her chopsticks. "You're stupid."

He sighed again and swallowed his drink.

* * *

"Kazu? Oh, God, what an arse." Rika burped lightly and took another shot before continuing. "But he's Kazu. I'm used to him."

Ryo waved a hand in the air in disgust, amazed how unattractive this beautiful girl could be when she was drunk.

She laughed. "Why? Do you want to date me?"

"Hardly," he muttered, not caring if he hurt her feelings anymore. She most likely wouldn't remember this whole incident the next morning at this rate.

"Oh, no." She turned her sake bottle upside down. "I'm all out. Lady—!"

"Come on, this has gone on long enough. I don't have time for this." He stood up and walked to the woman running the tent. "How much is it?"

"Hey! Mister!" She stood up and wobbled her to way to him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm paying so we can leave."

"Stop being dumb, I'm paying!" She pushed him weakly away. "Lady, how much is it?"

"¥6500."

Rika stared at her. "¥6500? Are you ripping me off because I'm drunk?"

"I'll p—"

"Mister, go away!" She opened her bag and hiccupped. "I haven't got any notes. Do you take cheques or credit cards?"

"Why don't you just get your boyfriend to pay for you?"

"What? This man?" Rika poked his shoulder and laughed. "Lady, this guy isn't my—"

"It's ¥6500?" Ryo clarified, giving the woman the money.

Rika angrily hit his head with her bag. "I said I'll pay! I just have to go to the ATM."

"You can pay me back later," he said, taking her by the arm.

"You're an irresponsible boyfriend," the woman accused. "You shouldn't let your girlfriend get so drunk next time."

He gave an apologetic smile before dragging the struggling model out of the tent.

"Mis-_ter_!" she said angrily. "I… I said… I… _I'll_ pay."

"And I said you can pay me ba—" He frowned. "Are you ok—"

His words were cut off, however, as she leaned forward on him, falling on his chest.

"Rika?" He shook her. "Rika? Did you pass out?"

"N…no."

"Good. Don't pass out. Really, don't pass out. I wouldn't know what to do."

"I… I…"

"What is it?"

"I… I… I think…"

"What's wrong?" he asked, shaking her harder. "I can't understand you. Are you okay?"

"Mis… mister…"

She grasped his jacket sleeves, dipped lower towards his abdomen and vomited.

* * *

He admitted it; he was abnormally clean and had a phobia of anything or anybody who didn't look less than perfectly hygienic.

"You shouldn't have given your girlfriend so much."

Rika was passed out by the fountain, while he was forced to clean the vomit spread all over the path. The man who had brought out the mop and dustbin looked piteously at him.

"I didn't give it to her," Ryo muttered, attempting to mop for the first time in his life.

"She's out good."

"Yeah," he mumbled, angrily sloshing the mop messily around the path. When she had thrown up, it had not only gotten on the ground, it managed to get all over the bottom half of his clothes. Then she stood up straight, fell on his shoulder, and vomited on the top half. Then she sort of slid down, getting it on her clothes. He had been so shocked that he dropped her, and she landed on her own vomit.

The memory of it disgusted him.

"I feel sorry for you, mate."

* * *

"Saved under 'Mum', huh?" Ryo asked angrily to the unconscious Rika as he scrolled her phonebook for her mum's number. "You liar."

Why had he followed her? If he had just listened to his brain and had left as normal people would have done, he would be home in bed.

Instead, he was forced to carry her. After he had mopped up the mess, the man told him to carry Rika since she was nearly drenched in her own vomit. He didn't want the fountain to get messy again. Ryo, also covered in it, wasn't allowed to sit down.

"Hm, do you have her on speed dial?" he asked, only to find out seconds later she didn't have a speed dial list made. His eyes fell on Kazu's name.

Rather face Kazu than call everybody on her phonebook, he rang him up and put the phone to his ear.

"Rika!" answered a familiar voice. "Where are you? I swear to God—"

"Hi, I'm sorry but—"

The phone died.

Ryo stared at it.

It still was off.

The battery had died.

Rika was sliding off his back.

He hoisted her back up.

He put her phone in her bag and stood there, speechless.

Now what?

* * *

**Random Fact about Chapter 4:** Translating sucks. Calling people "Lady" and "Mister" is perfectly acceptable in Japan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Stubborn Love  
**Squit Ayumin

**Chapter 5**

Ryo had always been a morning person. Never had he felt as awful as he opened his eyes this particular morning, greeting the still-dark room. It wouldn't be dawn for several more hours, but he had always been an early riser.

He cleared his scratchy throat before closing his eyes again.

_Just a few more minutes of sleep…_

He scrunched his nose in dissatisfaction.

His normally flawless apartment reeked. Terribly. The stench of vomit and liquor hung over him, reminding him of the night before.

He smashed a pillow over his head, wanting to call in sick and spend the day sleeping.

The soft sheets and fluffy pillow weren't helping his situation of trying to get up and out of bed either. He grasped his pillow, threw it to his side, and kicked the covers off of him.

"Get up, Akiyama," he muttered to himself.

He gazed at the dark, blank ceiling.

He wanted to go back to sleep.

He needed to go back to sleep.

Sleep…

…

…

…

His alarm clock went off.

He let it ring incessantly.

He closed his eyes again, his mind flashing to the scenes of the night before. The girl vomiting on him, he cleaning her vomit, he carrying her—

He opened his eyes, leaned over and turned his alarm clock off.

It had been the single most nauseating night of his life.

He sat up and stared at the bathroom into which he would soon step. The last thing he wanted to think about was the night before—and Rika… Rika… whatever her name was.

* * *

Rika awoke, head pounding. She groaned and turned to her side, only to fall to the floor.

Tangled in a mass of very soft sheets, she quickly scrambled to her feet to see if anybody had seen. She scanned the room to see that Kazu wasn't there. Then she realised this wasn't his room.

Nor was this her room.

Nor anybody's room she had ever been in.

It was fancy and elegant, almost as if it was taken from a Victorian palace.

Suspicious, she called, "Hello?"

There was no response.

She let the sheets fall off her body, revealing a nightgown she didn't remember she owned. Her eyes inspected the room again, and they fell onto a chair. Clothes—she presumed they were her clothes—were neatly folded on top of it.

"All right, where the hell are you?" she shouted loudly, seizing the sheets and wrapping it protectively around her body.

Still, there was no response. Nor were there any signs of movement. The room was empty.

She couldn't remember a thing.

Except…

_Motou_.

Her eyes widened with realisation, and she screamed.

* * *

To look at this situation from a positive light, the girl _had_ gotten his mind out of Mayuko. And accordingly, his hunger finally set in.

Unfortunately, the only thing he had managed to get were some crisps from a stand at the corner of the street. As he munched on those, he felt refreshingly better. Perhaps it was because he had starved himself the past couple of days.

"Mr Akiyama?" came Arisa's voice on the intercom.

"Yes?"

"There's a Miss Rika Nonaka downstairs who wishes to see you. She claims she has an appointment, but I don't have her scheduled. Would you like me to send her away?"

Rika?

It had to be the crazy girl.

He contemplated kicking her out but after some thought realised he did owe her at least an explanation.

"No, allow her in."

He tapped his pen against his desk, anticipating the moment she would burst through his door. He hardly knew her, but from what he could tell, she'd start a riot. Just in case, he slipped one hand under his desk to where the security button was.

He could hear sounds of loud shuffling in the other room and a woman's voice. It was obviously not Arisa's meek one.

The door flew open.

"You rapist!" The redheaded girl stormed into his office, her expression even more intimidating than he had imagined. "I'm suing you for every pence you're worth own, you—"

He refused to let her control him the way she had embarrassingly done so the night before.

"Perhaps you would like to hear the correct story before you start screaming such accusations?" he suggested, motioning for a very bewildered Arisa to shut the door.

Despite his calm exterior, she petrified him. He could see her seething with anger, and for a brief moment, he was positive she would lunge at him and kill him. It wouldn't even surprise him if she had a knife stowed away under her jacket, just waiting to get close enough to stab him. She even seemed scary enough to take it out and throw it directly at his face.

"What the hell was I doing with this on—" She threw a nightgown on his desk, "in a hotel room?"

"Do you even remember anything from last night?"

"I remember you taking advantage of me when I was drunk!"

He suddenly grew angry. She had no reason to yell at him. It was he who should be screaming at her.

"_Advantage_ of you?" he said loudly. "You think I took _advantage_ of you?"

She was unbelievable. She thought… she thought he… that he would even consider… no. It was too inconceivable to even think about.

"What would you think if you were in my place?" she snarled. "No wonder why you were so eager to follow me around, you sick-minded, perverted—"

He interrupted, unable to take such accusations. "You drank too much, which I specifically told you _not_ to do, and passed out. I tried calling your mum as you told me to do, but she wasn't saved in your speed dial like you said. When I called your boyfriend, your mobile died. I don't know anything about you, so what was I supposed to do? Leave you there on the sidewalk? I certainly wasn't going to take you home with _me_, so I let you stay here. I assumed it would be the polite thing."

She simply glared now. This made him feel slightly better.

"Did I mention that you threw up? Several times?" He picked up the nightgown. "A maid changed you because that was the only way to relieve the room of your vomit odour. Which, now that you've come here personally, you can pay for. That will be ¥150,000."

"You asshole, you have no right to be mad at me."

"I have every right to be mad at you." He stood up, giving her a hard glare. "Thanks for dropping by, and I'm terribly sorry about any misunderstandings. Talk to Arisa on the way out; she'll give you your bill."

She didn't budge. "You're charging me ¥150,000 for a hotel room I never wanted?"

"That's the amount it costs for a night, yes."

"You're robbing me."

"Oh, that's not all. I paid ¥6500 for your drinks last night too."

He had always hated when people got angry with him, but for some reason, the fact that this girl glared at him with her cold eyes made him feel better. Perhaps it was because he was winning the argument.

She marched closer to him, threw her bag on his desk, and opened it.

He sat patiently, watching as she rummaged through it.

She took out a chequebook. "How much is it for all of it then? ¥156,500?"

"Better round it to ¥157,000. I paid for your McDonald's too."

She scribbled, pressing down hard with her pen. He could feel the hate seeping from her, but he ignored it. Out of paranoia, he glanced quickly into her handbag to make sure there wasn't any sort of weapon she'd pull out.

The sound of her ripping the cheque startled him.

"Here." She slammed the paper on his desk.

"Thank you."

She seized the nightgown from the chair and stormed off, making sure to close the door as hard and as loudly as she could. For a minute, he sat there, smiling. It felt good to know he had made her morning terrible.

And then he felt terrible.

What on Earth was he doing, taking this money from her? She hadn't asked to stay in a ¥150,000 suite. She had insisted on paying her ¥6500 bill yesterday; he simply had paid to hurry things along. He had even given up the ¥500 voluntarily upon her asking. None of it was her fault; he was a crook.

He took the cheque from his desk and ran out the door.

"I'll be back," he promised Arisa as he ran out her door. Deciding the elevator wouldn't be fast enough, he opened the door that led to the stairway and began to run down.

* * *

It was a stupid idea.

His legs were killing him, and he couldn't tell if he was breathing anymore. His lungs were probably failing him, yet he kept jumping down the stairs.

He had always watched people in the movies who decided stairs were faster than the elevator, and he had criticised them for even thinking that. Obviously, the elevator was much faster.

So why was he still racing down the stairs as if his life depended on it?

It wasn't like it was that important of a task.

He was practically stealing from her, that was why. And even though she wasn't the most likeable character, he couldn't take her money. Especially when she had been right.

Then again, she didn't have to be so stupid as to get so pissed drunk.

From his office to the entrance of the hotel, he argued with himself until he finally opened the door to the lobby.

She wasn't anywhere to be seen, but he rushed outside, ignoring the stares from his staff members.

He saw her at a newspaper stand, skimming a magazine.

Relieved, he stopped to catch his breath before walking up to her. She didn't appear to see him approach her, despite his panting.

"Rika," he called out, approaching her.

She turned to him, gave him a foul look and returned to her magazine. She was ignoring him.

He outstretched his arm, revealing her cheque. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want it," she muttered, turning to the kiosk owner. "I'll have this."

"Please take it."

"I don't want it," she repeated again, not turning her attention from the confused owner.

"I can't accept it."

"And yet you were the one who forced me to write it," she pointed out, turning around for a brief moment to give him a devilish glare. "If you don't want it, rip it up. I'm not stopping you. Don't bother _me_ though. You've wasted enough of my time."

He folded it in half and tore it. "I'm sorry."

She eyed him from head to toe before her lips curled up into a belittling smirk. "Have a nice day, Motou."

The way she said it was mocking.

She turned her heel and walked away, and despite that she had made him feel extremely uncomfortable, he felt better. Smiling contently to himself, he too turned to walk away. He then turned back around, tempted by another bag of crisps.

"Er…" He rummaged through his pockets for any loose change. Somehow, luck decided to be on his side, and he pulled out a note. "Could I have one of those?"

* * *

Arisa leaned towards his ear and whispered, "Mr Akiyama, I think your, er, chewing is distracting people."

He looked down at the bag of Doritos in his hand. "Is it?"

She nodded.

Embarrassed, he put the bag away.

He was starving.

And not paying attention.

Realising this, he decided to listen to the discussion.

"97% of the people say they're fine with the conditions in the rooms already, but 19% say it could be a bit colder. Yet 92% of those people say they wouldn't mind it was the same anyway… And 4% of that 97% from earlier also claim it could be a bit warmer. The other 77% of the original 97% say they can't really tell and would either not mind if it changed or were indecisive…"

Ryo looked down at his notes, scribbling down whatever he had heard along with some doodles. So far, he had managed to scribble a drawing of a pig alongside percentages with no labels.

"President Akiyama, what is your view on this?"

He looked up. "Pardon?"

"The temperature issue?"

_What temperature issue? They were discussing temperature? He thought they were discussing marketing… No, research. Wait, it was definitely—_

"Er, President?"

"I don't think it's of any importance," he answered honestly.

"Oh, yes, of course. Nix the temperature idea." The Head of Research pointed at his charts again. "Next we have food research. Mostly, about 94% of the people enjoy the food, but 16% think it could be a little bit more traditionally Japanese…"

Ryo sighed softly, scribbling his "notes" once again.

* * *

As he approached Arisa's office, he saw a familiar somebody waiting outside.

Rika.

He wanted to dash to the nearest exit, but she made eye contact with him first.

"Hello," he greeted politely.

She smirked. "I left my jacket in your office."

"Oh." He took his keys out and unlocked the door. "Sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" she muttered, taking the liberty to barge in the second he opened the door.

"Could you hurry?" she asked, now standing by his office door. She crossed her arms to show her impatience.

He unlocked the door for her again.

She walked in and took a jacket from the couch. She searched the pockets and took out her mobile. Looking pleased, she turned around to face him.

"Thank you."

"No problem."

She wasn't leaving.

"Sorry about earlier," he tried.

"Don't worry about it."

She still wasn't leaving.

"Could I help you with anything else?"

She smirked again. "Actually, I was wondering if you could do me a favour."

A favour? Since when did he owe her a favour? Of any kind?

"Like what?"

"You're still looking for a spokesperson, right?"

He froze.

She smirked, conscious of his uneasiness.

"Yes," he finally managed to say. "Don't worry, I've taken care of that contract so—"

"Hire me."

…

"Hire you?" he repeated slowly.

She smiled. "Problem?"

"I thought you didn't want the job," he rephrased.

"It's a ¥200 million endorsement. Why would anybody not want that?"

_Taxes?_ he thought bitterly. "I'm not quite sure I have the ability to hire you. You'll have to check with whoever is in charge of—"

Arisa's voice came from the speaker. "Mr Akiyama, your father is on line one."

_Perfect_, he thought sarcastically.

Rika turned her head to examine her jacket, still smirking. He pretended not to notice her, instead walking to his desk, confirming with Arisa, and picking up the telephone to hear his father's daunting voice.

"Hello?"

"I should fire you."

_Typical father-son greeting._

"Hi Dad," Ryo greeted. "I've been well. How have you been?"

"Don't try to be funny, Ryo."

"Hello Mr Motou!" Rika hollered, suddenly beside him.

Ryo let out a gasp of surprise.

"Ryo, who is that?"

"She's er… she's nobody."

"I'm Rika Nonaka," she replied. "I'm the new spokesperson for your company. It's an absolute pleasure to meet—er, talk to you."

There was a pause.

Ryo stared at Rika.

Rika smiled at him, as if what she had done was perfectly acceptable.

"Splendid!" his father exclaimed. "I was calling to lecture you for not meeting your deadline, but apparently you have. Arisa told me you hadn't."

Ryo still stared at Rika. She continued to smile prettily, reaching her hand out over his and lowering the phone towards her mouth.

"I hope to be an asset to your company!" Rika replied.

"Thank you, Miss Nonaka. Ryo, I'm sorry for disrupting your work and taking up your time. Both of you, have an excellent day."

Ryo continued to stare blankly at Rika, despite the dial tone buzzing in his ear.

"Thanks for hiring me, Mr—" Rika's eye caught his nameplate and picked it up. "_Akiyama_."


End file.
